Deals: Page 6


  • A wall showing a Merck & Co. logo in Kenilworth, New Jersey
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    Courtesy of Merck & Co.
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    Immune reset

    Merck bets $700M on an antibody drug’s potential in immune diseases

    The deal hands Merck a cancer medicine already in human testing, but that the company sees as a potential treatment for autoimmune conditions, too.

    By Aug. 9, 2024
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    Getty Images
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    Emerging biotech

    With pharma in ‘catbird seat,’ biotechs get less upfront in drug partnerships

    Recent data from J.P. Morgan indicates early-stage startups are getting smaller upfront payments in alliances than a few years ago, a trend industry insiders attribute to weaker leverage in deal talks.

    By Aug. 9, 2024
  • An image of the lab inside Recursion Pharmaceuticals.
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    Permission granted by Recursion Pharmaceuticals
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    Recursion to absorb Exscientia in ‘techbio’ deal

    The two AI drug discovery firms, which have each lost most of their value since going public, believe their complementary skills can better speed the development of new medicines.

    By Kristin Jensen • Aug. 8, 2024
  • A flag bearing the words Boehringer Ingelheim flaps in the breeze.
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    Courtesy of Boehringer Ingelheim
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    Boehringer adds to cancer drug pipeline with deal for startup Nerio

    The pharma company will pay up to $1.3 billion to acquire San Diego-based Nerio and its research into novel immune checkpoint inhibitors.

    By Ned Pagliarulo • July 29, 2024
  • An illustration of dollar signs and small pills coming together to make one larger pill, representing a biopharma deal.
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    Brian Tucker/BioPharma Dive
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    Private biotech M&A surges amid difficult IPO market

    Private biotech company acquisitions are on their fastest pace in years, a trend some in the industry say is driven by the abundance of mature, but not yet public, drug startups. 

    By July 22, 2024
  • Boehringer Ingelheim building
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    Permission granted by Boehringer Ingelheim
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    Boehringer cuts price of Humira biosimilar in bid to build use

    The German drugmaker will offer a 92% discount on a copycat version of Humira for people who pay cash for the drug through GoodRx.

    By July 18, 2024
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    Getty Images
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    Cardurion raises another $260M to fuel heart drug pipeline

    The financing, which ranks as one of the year’s larger private rounds, will help the startup advance a pair of drugs and potentially acquire other medicines. 

    By July 16, 2024
  • A person works in Sionna Therapeutics' lab.
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    Permission granted by Sionna Therapeutics
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    Sionna revives AbbVie’s cystic fibrosis drugs, eyeing a shot at Vertex

    The startup says drugs AbbVie abandoned last year could form a combination regimen with “superior efficacy” to Vertex’s market-leading medicines.

    By July 16, 2024
  • A sign shows the logo of Eli Lilly's Research Laboratories
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    Getty Images
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    Lilly to buy Morphic in $3B bet on inflammation drug

    The deal would hand Lilly an experimental pill that could one day rival Takeda's blockbuster medicine Entyvio as a treatment for inflammatory bowel disease.

    By July 8, 2024
  • A white sign with the word Lilly written in red stands outside of an office.
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    Scott Olson via Getty Images
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    Eli Lilly inks another radiopharma deal, gaining option to buy startup

    Under an arrangement with Radionetics, Lilly will have rights to acquire the San Diego biotechnology company for $1 billion.

    By July 1, 2024
  • A sign showing the Eisai logo outside of a building
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    Courtesy of Eisai
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    Eisai and Bristol Myers cancel cancer ADC deal

    The Japan-based drugmaker said its U.S. partner’s “portfolio prioritization efforts” led to the termination. It will refund part of an upfront payment.

    By July 1, 2024
  • An AbbVie sign is seen on the outside of a building in California.
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    Courtesy of AbbVie
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    AbbVie expands its IBD prospects with $250M Celsius deal

    The pharma’s acquisition of Celsius is the latest in a string of deals by major drugmakers hunting anti-inflammatory medicines.

    By June 27, 2024
  • An AbbVie sign is seen on a building at the pharmaceutical company's U.S. headquarters.
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    Courtesy of AbbVie
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    AbbVie joins in latest gastrointestinal drug chase

    Following Roche, Merck and others into a hot field, the Humira maker will pay $150 million to license a preclinical TL1A antibody for IBD.

    By June 14, 2024
  • Seres Therapeutics' microbiome pill Vowst for recurrent C. diff. infections.
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    Courtesy of Seres Therapeutics
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    Seres, indebted and in need of cash, agrees to sell microbiome pill to Nestle

    Seres did not disclose financial details for the deal, but said it would help extend the company's cash runway by one year.

    By Kristin Jensen • June 6, 2024
  • A closeup of an eye with light reflecting off of it.
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    Getty Images
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    Merck to buy eye drug developer for $1.3B

    An acquisition of EyeBio will hand Merck a treatment for diabetic macular edema and age-related macular degeneration that’s ready for pivotal testing.

    By Kristin Jensen • May 29, 2024
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    Agios cashes in on cancer drug again with $905M Royalty Pharma deal

    The deal involves royalties for a brain cancer drug Agios previously sold off and that Royalty Pharma thinks could generate more than $1 billion in U.S. sales.

    By May 28, 2024
  • Signs for Johnson & Johnson are seen on company offices in California.
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    Mario Tama via Getty Images
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    J&J gains another bispecific antibody with $1.25B skin drug buy

    The deal is J&J’s second this month involving bispecific antibodies, which the company has prioritized to build its immune and cancer drug pipeline.

    By May 28, 2024
  • A  3D illustration of ribonucleic acid, or RNA, strands
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    Getty Images
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    Orna, a circular RNA specialist, acquires a buzzy startup

    After laying off staff late last year, Orna is expanding through the purchase of ReNAgade Therapeutics, which was built around technology designed to more effectively deliver RNA-based medicines.

    By May 23, 2024
  • Two people in laboratory gowns inspect biotechnology equipment with lettering spelling Millipore.
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    Courtesy of Millipore Sigma via Business Wire
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    Merck KGaA to buy gene therapy tools maker for $600M

    The German drugmaker is bolstering its MilliporeSigma business with a unit of Gamma Biosciences that specializes in so-called transfection reagents.

    By Kristin Jensen • May 23, 2024
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    Mario Tama via Getty Images
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    J&J to buy Proteologix and its dual-targeting antibody drugs for $850M

    The deal is part of a plan by J&J to build a portfolio of “differentiated” bispecific antibodies, an increasingly popular area of drug development. 

    By Kristin Jensen • May 16, 2024
  • A scientific illustration of amyloid plaques and neurons, colored in blue and orange.
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    Getty Images
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    Takeda nabs option to license Alzheimer’s immunotherapies from AC Immune

    The deal — worth $100 million up front and potentially billions more later on — gives Takeda an exclusive option to license an Alzheimer’s vaccine and other “active immunotherapies.”

    By May 13, 2024
  • A photo of Sanofi headquarters in Paris, France.
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    Courtesy of Sanofi
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    Sanofi gambles $80M on Fulcrum’s muscular dystrophy drug

    The deal gives the pharma partial rights to a medicine GSK once developed for heart disease but could soon become the first therapy for facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy.

    By May 13, 2024
  • A composite image of two headshots, featuring Maze CEO Jason Coloma and CMO Harold Bernstein.
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    Permission granted by Maze Therapeutics
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    Maze lands new partner for Pompe drug, after Sanofi pact came apart

    An alliance with Shionogi involves similar terms as a deal Sanofi canceled in response to an unusual challenge from the Federal Trade Commission.

    By May 10, 2024
  • A photo of Sanofi headquarters in Paris, France.
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    Courtesy of Sanofi
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    Royalty Pharma pays startup $525M for stake in Sanofi MS drug

    The deal gives the company milestone payments and royalties to a medicine, frexalimab, that Sanofi licensed from biotech ImmuNext and expects to be a future blockbuster.

    By Kristin Jensen • May 9, 2024
  • White flags bearing Novo Nordisk's logo are seen against a blue sky.
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    Courtesy of Novo Nordisk
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    Novo taps another Flagship startup in search for next obesity drugs

    The deal with Metaphore Biotechnologies is the third from a Flagship alliance meant to boost the Danish drugmaker’s pipeline of weight loss medicines.

    By May 9, 2024